A timeline of the Charles Oakley vs. James Dolan feud

How did it come to this? Knicks legend Charles Oakley and Garden chairman James Dolan clearly don't like each other, and it boiled over Wednesday when Oakley was physically escorted out the Garden just four minutes into the Knicks game with the Clippers. Oakley said he was minding his own business, while Dolan and his people said the former player was being abusive. Let's try to figure this out together from the beginning:

June 27, 1988

Oakley is traded along with a first-round pick from the Bulls to the Knicks for Bill Cartwright, a first-round pick and a third-round selection.

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1988-1998

Oakley is the heart-and-soul of Knicks teams for a decade, known for his rebounding, durability and his physicality. The Knicks are in the playoffs every year (think about that, Knicks fans: every ... single ... year) — Oak starts in 111 postseason games — and make the finals in 1994, when they famously lose to the Rockets in seven games.

June 25, 1998

Traded by Knicks with Sean Marks to Toronto for Marcus Camby.

2004

Charles Oakley's Knicks years

May 14, 2010

As the Knicks are trying to court LeBron James, Oakley says The King ain't coming to the Garden. "Chicago or Miami," Oak tells the Daily News' Frank Isola. "Not New York. He's leaving." Oakley is a friend/mentor to James. They have an Ohio connection − Oakley owns a home in the Cleveland suburbs.

2010-2011

Assistant coach with the Charlotte Bobcats under head coach Paul Silas. Leaves position in Dec. 1, 2011 because of back issues. It's during this time that Oakley continues a pattern of blasting the Knicks, their players (Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire), coaches (Mike D'Antoni) and executives (Isiah Thomas) in the media that has lasted to this day.

Nov. 16, 2012

Oakley, spending a charitable morning cooking and serving Thanksgiving dinners to seniors on the lower East Side, says that for a while he "cried and tried" to get a job in the Knicks organization, with no luck. The then 48-year-old has heard it's because he's too critical of his former team.

"They say I'm hard on them. I say, I'm not hard on them; that's just the way the game goes and people have opinions," Oakley tells The News' Stefan Bondy. "Ex-players I talk to, they say, 'Management, they like you. But sometimes it's the way you say things, the way you do things.'

Oakley is also critical of the way the Knicks have treated Patrick Ewing, who is offered a D-League coaching job instead of the Knicks' assistant gig given to LaSalle Thompson. Ewing turns the job down.

"That's embarrassing," Oakley said. "How can you offer Patrick a D-League coaching job? I think it's embarrassing. No matter what a person did to you or whatever over the years, his agent or somebody. That's Kindergarten. This man has been the coach for 10 years and you're going to offer him a Kindergarten job. Totally disrespectful."

Feb. 12, 2015

Oakley rips into Dolan, calling the Garden chairman "a bad guy" to News' Christian Red. Oakley says he has been "quiet for a while" on his feud with Dolan. Not anymore. "As hard as I played for that motherf-----, and he don't want to talk with me?" Oakley barked.

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Oakley can't understand why Dolan won't meet with him for a peace summit. "Everybody in New York liked me except this one guy. Why is this? Everywhere I talk to people — 'Why aren't you working with the Knicks?' I said I try to. They said, 'What, is it Dolan?' I talked to maybe a million people. He's a bad guy."

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Oak even tries to broker peace with NBA commish Adam Silver. "I asked the commissioner to set up a meeting with (Dolan), take a step forward. I want to know what I did to be hated so bad by an owner. The dad (Charles Dolan), I never heard him say nothing bad about me. I asked players I played with to go talk with (James Dolan). He said he don't want to deal with me."

Oak then takes one final shot at Dolan: "He's a billion-dollar guy. He own the team. But fans are the ones that pay your bills. When I was here I treated people with respect, the writers, everybody. How can I be that bad?"

April 6, 2016

Sources tell The News that there is an altercation between Oakley and Garden security during the Knicks' loss to the Charlotte Hornets after Oakley appears to be under the impression he was being singled out by Dolan. That incident ends less dramatically.

Nov. 1, 2016

Oakley tells the New York Times he still wants to meet with Dolan: "I wouldn't mind cooking him dinner. Might put something in it, though!" A source close to Oakley tells News that Allan Houston often won't take his phone calls and one former Knick tells News that they think "Houston, John Starks and Larry Johnson sold Charles out to Jimmy Dolan because they want to make sure their jobs with the Knicks are secure."

Charles Oakley joined the Knicks in 1988. (Chuck Burton/AP)

Wednesday

Oakley gets tossed from Knicks-Clippers game just 4½ minutes into first quarter. Knick legend is thrown out of Garden by about a dozen security guards. Oakley tells News: "I didn't say anything to (Dolan). They came over and wanted to know why I was sitting there. I bought the ticket. ... Then they asked me to leave. And I said I'm not leaving."

Knicks say in statement: Oakley's behavior is "highly inappropriate and completely abusive. ... He was a great Knick and we hope he gets help soon."

Oakley is charged with three counts of misdemeanor assault, one of criminal trespass.

Thursday

Oakley tells ESPN that security guards are under "orders" to alert Garden and team owner James Dolan whenever he is in the building, and that they even follow him from his seat to the bathroom. He adds: "I want to say I'm sorry to all the fans. It was just a bad scene. I love New York. I gave my heart to New York."

Garden is having none of it, doubling down in a statement: "There are dozens of security staff, employees and NYPD that witnessed Oakley's abusive behavior. It started when he entered the building and continued until he was arrested and left the building. Every single statement we have received is consistent in describing his actions. Everything he said since the incident is pure fiction."